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Area Requirements for History Majors

REQUIREMENTS FOR HISTORY MAJORS

Basic Principles:

  1. Courses in the history major are divided into three geographic area categories: Category I (Africa, Asia, and World History); Category II (Europe, Russia, and the USSR); and Category III (North America).
  2. Courses are also divided into the categories of “early” and “modern,” depending on the time period they cover. The dividing lines between these categories vary depending on the region being studied. See the document Full Course Listing by Area.
  3. On this listing, some courses are marked by an asterisk (*) because they devote at least one third to another period or area. Students can count these courses only in one of the two fields, not in both.
  4. Students can count a maximum of three courses taken abroad or at other colleges and universities in the United States towards the major. History courses taken abroad and approved by the chair can count for area requirements but not as a substitute for the 300- and 400-level requirements. Please note: courses on the history of Australia or New Zealand do not count as Category I courses unless they focus on aboriginal societies.
  5. To count as one of the eleven required history courses, a class must award at least three credits.
  6. Independent study courses taken with History faculty (including HI 483 and HI 484) can count toward the eleven required courses and area requirements if they carry at least 3 credits and are graded. Normally, no more than two independent studies may be counted toward the major. Students who do an honors thesis may count three.
  7. Ask the chair of the department if there is any doubt about how to count a particular course you are taking or have taken in the past.
  8. AP courses, even if they receive all-college credit, do not count for the history major. However, we encourage and allow first-year students with AP history credit to enter 200-level courses in the field of their AP course.
  9. A number of courses (normally those designated 297, 298, 397, 398, and 498) are usually one-time offerings.
  10. The Senior Honors Thesis sequence is HI 483f followed by HI 484s. Honors candidates must also complete another 400 level seminar.

Satisfaction of History Department Requirements

A total of 11 three- or four-credit courses must be taken in the major, including:

  • 3 area requirements (1 course in each of the three area categories)
  • at least 2 courses that are pre-modern (“early”)
  • HI 276 (Patterns and Processes in World History).
  • two 300-level courses
  • one 400-level senior research seminar

Note: The 300- and 400-level seminars may count for area requirements.

Revised: RS, June 2016